A Price to Pay

There’s always a price to pay when you commit a dirty deed. And being high in the pecking order isn’t enough to save you. But Marion “Ego” Richardson, major of the guard at Wisconsin State Prison, believes he’s invincible. Not even a connection to the murder of an inmate can pull Ego away from his pursuit of the top as he strives for the warden’s chair. Or, at least that’s what he thinks until he gets blackmailed five years later by an attorney who knows the truth. Zak Griffin’s got his own troubles snapping at his heels. The former marine and Vietnam War hero gets a job at the prison but can’t stop his excessive drinking. That’s nothing compared to the trouble Zak has when he falls for Shirleen Hammer, an undercover investigator for the state, sent in to discover the dirty dealings inside the prison walls. Shirleen’s got her own secrets, including her connection to the murder five years ago. Mystery thriller A Price to Pay shows what happens when the stakes are high and everyone has a secret. Author George Smullen uses his twenty-eight years as an educator in the Wisconsin state prison system, including his experience as a hostage during a prison riot, to write A Price to Pay. He takes readers inside the prison walls to discover just how inhumane man can be to his fellow man, and shows that it’s never too late for a little bit of humanity to save the day.